Not Dead Yet

by Alice Bello

  He made a muffled chuckle, and then pulled out the stopper. He looked at it in his hand, his face scrunching into an expression of distaste. It was half-full of leftovers from dinner.

  She took it from him and discarded the lot in the trashcan in the corner, and then came back and started scrubbing out the sink with more Dawn and a metal scrubby.

  Gabriel came up behind her and folded her in his arms.

  It was so nice, so deliciously needed. Her body hungered for the warmth of his. And god he was warm—so much warmer than a human.

  She leaned back against him and turned, oh so slowly, around to face him. The moment their lips got close enough they kissed each other, deeply, with such hunger and passion.

  Lucy had needed this for so long, to be with him, to be alone with him—a feeling so deep, so primal that it made her shiver even as a roiling heat built inside her.

  She wanted Gabriel, and she wanted him now.

  And from the feel of his body against hers, she was sure he felt the same way.

  Damn it to bloody hell, though, Gabriel was too good a man—or was he a boy scout?—to let it go any further before they were married.

  He pulled himself away from her, lips parting last, and then kind of stumbled back from her. She wanted to reach out and drag him back to her, to pick up where they’d left off...

  But he was just suddenly on the other side of the kitchen, his jacket in one hand and his other gripped on the woodwork of the doorway. A white knuckled grip.

  Damn werewolves and their supernatural speed!

  “That’s not a good idea,” he said breathlessly.

  Lucy cocked her hip, haughtily placing her hand there for effect. “I don’t know... seemed pretty good to me.” She licked her lips.

  Always call attention to your mouth when attempting seduction, and then make the man notice other, even more appealing parts of you. She took a sultry breath and arched her back.

  Gabriel’s eyes started to go that hot, amber wolf color that made Lucy tingle all over. Totally sexy, totally uncontrolled.

  But then he looked away and a literal gasp escaped his lips. “Your grandmother would kill me.”

  And then he was just gone. There was a click of the screen door, and then the revving of his Jag’s engine, and then he was gone.

  Lucy slumped against the counter of the sink and dried her still wet hands on a dishtowel.

  She so needed to get this wedding thing over with. If she didn’t, she was going to spontaneously combust and catch the whole house on fire.

  ~*~

  Micah was on his way out of Lucy’s grandmother’s house, a big, half-eaten sandwich in his left hand and the keys to his Jeep in his right. He was chewing some of Lillian’s fine Roast Beast and Mary’s Little Lamb when a guy on a skateboard rolled up the driveway.

  At first Micah didn’t give him a second glance—so not his type: skinny and not all that tall. Plus he was obviously pretty young, a freaking teenager. But he remembered that Lucy had a younger brother, Keith or Kevin or Kyle or something. So Micah decided to extend a little soon-to-be brother-in-law courtesy to the pup.

  He swallowed the delicious meat he’d been chewing and moved to intercept the rolling teenager. He took a breath to say Hey, how’s it hanging? or some shit like that, when the kid’s scent hit him, sharp and dark and to die for. It made Micah’s brain short circuit, so he stood there gawking, with his mouth hanging open.

  The kid stopped and eyed him. Dark hair like his sister’s, with green eyes the color of old dollar bills. His flesh was unblemished—rare for a human teenager—and it was speckled with freckles.

  He smiled, and he had his sister’s dimples, except his smile was lopsided, and sexy as hell.

  Micah shook his head and tried to clear his jumbled mind, but when he took another breath, his confusion became even stronger. The kid... a young human kid, smelled like...

  Fuck... it couldn’t be... it was just impossible...

  And dangerously inappropriate...

  But there it was. His scent was firing in Micah’s head, sending him the flash fire signal of Mate.

  But that could only happen between two werewolves, and then only a male and a female. It was a hormonal, biology thing. Not that he’d felt it for any of the women in his pack, or any women period. But he’d heard the stories from his friends, from his relatives. When that scent kicked in, the men had been goners. The female that smelled like that... like home... they practically enslaved the men.

  He’d always thought that was truly unfair. That everyone should and did have free will. But there he was, standing across from a guy who would be the last male he’d pick to ask out on a date, not to mention to mate with for life, but the mere scent off him had kicked his head into picking-out-curtains mode.

  “This is so fucked up... ” he breathed, his voice low and hoarse with need.

  “So he can talk,” Lucy’s brother said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I thought for a minute that you were one of those mentally challenged types.”

  Micah laughed, but ended up coughing like he had a hairball.

  “So you’re Gabriel’s brother Micah, right?” He stepped down on his skateboard and the end flew up into his hand.

  “Yeah, and you’re Lucy’s brother... um... ”

  The kid smiled. His eyes twinkled mischievously as he stood there and waited, intentionally not telling him his name—leaving him hanging.

  Little bastard.

  Micah exhaled in an irritated sigh, and then folded his arms over his chest. He knew this pose looked damn intimidating on him, with his huge arms and barrel chest. “So what’s your name, you little shit?”

  The kid gave a little laugh, and then bit his lower lip. Then he moved over to Micah, looked up into his eyes with those big green peepers—and stole his roast beef and lamb sandwich.

  Before Micah knew what was happening the kid had taken a huge bite out of it and headed past him to the front door. Micah turned, his arms falling slack at his sides, his mouth doing the whole open-for-flies routine again, watching the guy who smelled like home saunter away.

  Shit...

  The kid reached for the screen door but stopped and looked back over his shoulder. He swallowed and licked his lips, the smile mocking and irritating and just adorable.

  “Name’s Seth. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

  And then he walked into the house, the screen door swinging shut behind him with a bang.

  Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit...

  Micah put his hands on top of his head and paced back and forth in front of his Jeep a few times.

  This isn’t happening. I’m too young to settle down. It’s impossible, for one thing. It’s immoral for another—the kid’s obviously jailbait. And for another thing...

  Gabriel would never let me live it down.

  ~*~

  Lucy hadn’t spent too much time with Abbey Adams. Not since they’d inadvertently raised every dead person in the small cemetery back behind both of their houses, just past a small wooded area. At first Lucy had felt just used. Abbey had tricked her into going with her that night. She’d planned on siphoning Lucy’s necromancer power into a spell to bring her parents back to life.

  Lucy had tried being angry with her—she’d nearly gotten them both killed! Truly, she had tried staying angry with the girl. But she felt sorry for her, too sorry to hold a grudge. After all, even if Lucy knew the burn and sting of having one of her parents abandon her, she certainly had no idea what having both parents gone for all time would be like. She did know, though, that she would do a hell of a lot more than just trick someone to bring back her mother, her stupid brother, and most certainly her Gram... even her absentee father.

  She’d move heaven and earth to bring them back... to protect them. So she soon fell into liking the Goth-makeup wearing, pink and black haired Wiccan who lived just next door.

  They’d gone to a couple of movies, and bowling. Of all the low-rent, bizarre things Lucy
had ever imagined doing—she’d actually worn rented shoes, and had ruined her manicure rolling heavy, tri-holed balls down a worn wooden lane to try and knock down a bunch of pins that made Lucy think more of little albino penguins than sporting equipment.

  Yet when Lucy finally got the cotton candy pink ball to stay out of the gutter and made her very first strike, she had to admit, bowling was fun.

  And so, when Lucy asked Abbey to go shopping with her—her usual shopping partner and maid of honor, Elaina Enoch, was inundated with planning her up-and-coming bridal shower—she’d felt ridiculously grateful that Abbey had said yes. It wasn’t until Abbey had directed them to a dark little shop on the wrong side of San Bernardino that Lucy thought to herself, What the hell?

  The windows were blacked out, so Lucy didn’t see any samples of their merchandise until they were both in the front door. The first item that caught Lucy’s eye was a gorgeous tan leather jacket that was elegantly tailored and made of the softest, butteriest leather she’d ever seen. That boded well. But what didn’t bode well was what she saw next. The next mannequin sported not only a black leather corset/bustier, but a strap on facsimile of a man’s rather large erection... in shiny black latex.

  The upfront placement of such a shocking tableau made her stop in her tracks, and then take one large, frightened step back.

  “Oh my god... that isn’t what I think it is, is it?”

  Abbey swung around and frowned at Lucy, and then gave the phallus adorned mannequin a cursory glance. “Not very life-like, but I imagine it would get the job done.”

  Lucy’s jaw dropped, and she stared at her funky Goth-chick friend with naked disbelief. “Since when are you... you know!” Lucy couldn’t bring herself to say it. Though Abbey seemed like a wild child, she had always assumed that they shared being a virgin.

  Abbey’s frown deepened and her eyebrows furrowed as she gazed quizzically at Lucy. And then her brows shot up and her mouth formed a perfect O.

  “By the goddess, Lucy... are you insane?” She spun around in circles for a few beats as she pulled madly at the pompom-like pigtails on either side of her head. She actually growled.

  At that moment Lucy felt something... something powerful, but fleeting. And it was definitely familiar—something dark and sweet and very familiar. But before Lucy could pin it down, it stopped, receding as quickly as it came.

  And with it, Abbey stopped, shook her head as if literally shaking bad thoughts from her skull, and she then shot Lucy with a shocked, googly-eyed gaze.

  “Internet porn, you dope!”

  “Internet porn?” Lucy echoed.

  Abbey rolled her eyes. “You know, X-tube, that sort of thing. Saves me from having ‘The Talk’ with Gran. Plus I know ahead of time what I’m in for.”

  “Oh... ” Lucy sighed. She was so out of her depth when it came to talking about sex. Sure she used to trash talk with the best of them at her old high school. Back then she’d been amoral, cruel, manipulative, and vicious.

  And lying to everyone... even herself.

  Not that she’d grown that much as a person—she still lived to shop, she still felt entitled to the good life, and she still was unabashedly out for number one. But those she felt closest to now were somehow more important than all that. She held them above all the trappings of being a wealthy socialite. For those few—and yet growing in number—souls, she would do almost anything.

  Unfortunately, the spritely girl dressed like a catholic schoolgirl straight out of a Rob Zombie movie, was one of those souls. And she wanted Lucy to come with her further into what had to be the most disturbing place she’d ever encountered.

  “Did you really think I’d do something like that?” Abbey rested her hands on her hips with haughty displeasure. “I mean, really Lucy! Gross!”

  Lucy held up her hands in surrender. “I’m not judging.” But thank god they weren’t having that conversation! “I mean, it’s practically going on trendy to, you know... ”

  “Give up the big V?” Abbey’s gaze just leveled Lucy. It was too blunt, just like Abbey herself. And those eyes, no matter what crazy makeup she wore, always seemed to cut right into you. “If it’s so trendy, then why haven’t you given it up?”

  “Huh... what?” That’s me, the eloquent debater. “Why would you think—”

  Abbey waved her off with a bored wave. “Oh, please. I knew the moment I met you. You’re not giving that up any time soon.” She smiled conspiratorially. “Not even for Mr. Hot-as-Hell Wolf-Boy.”

  Lucy blinked at her friend slowly. She just couldn’t believe that Abbey knew her so well. It was probably just the upcoming nuptials that had Lucy so out of sorts. But having Abbey being so surprisingly insightful was just creepy.

  But then again, hadn’t she been trying to get Mr. Hot-as-Hell Wolf-Boy to do just that?

  “So how do we get off this subject?” Lucy said, averting her gaze from Abbey, and a million miles away from the phallus sporting manikin.

  Abbey smiled wickedly. “Well, it involves you coming with me further into this little bordello of sin... and some sexy underwear.”

  She spun around and skipped further into the shop, past more leather clad mannequins, a display of ornately carved riding crops, and past a glass case, the counter strewn with bottles of scented oils and flavored lubricants.

  Lucy groaned and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. I’m never going to live this down. Never.

  She closed her eyes, pulled herself together inside and out, and then marched farther into the shop to find her crazy best friend.

  ~*~

  The “sexy underwear” turned out to be the most extensive collection of lace, satin, and silk garters Lucy had ever imagined existed. And weird upon weird, it fit perfectly into the theme of a pre-engagement party shopping spree. Lucy hadn’t chosen the dress yet... but she’d already set her mind on something pearl white that shimmered. Her colors would be peach and pink. She’d laid claim to those colors when she was twelve, and her choice had remained firm.

  So she bought every single white, white and pink, white and peach, and white, peach, and pink garter the store had.

  The sales clerk, wearing a nametag that read Rachel, also showed Lucy and Abbey the shop’s extensive collection of negligees and lacy underwear.

  Rachel had curly red hair that was an unnaturally vibrant color, yet somehow fit her flamboyant personality perfectly. She was at least six inches taller than Lucy, skinny as a toothpick, but still had some youthful plumpness to her gorgeous cheekbones. She wore jeans and a pink and acid green t-shirt, torn at the neck, and the non-existent sleeves, that once seemed to sport the logo of an old punk rock band.

  But it was Rachel’s smile that really put her apart: loony, lopsided, and brilliantly white. And when she smiled, it made her large green eyes practically glow.

  At first Lucy felt too self conscious to take any of it seriously. But after well over a half hour of intense scrutiny, Lucy headed for the front door of the little SMBD shop with five bags of loot... and the buttery leather jacket she first saw when entering.

  It was a man’s jacket, and Lucy could clearly envision Gabriel pulling it on over his broad, naked shoulders. She wanted to watch him pull it on, to watch him shrug it over his bulging biceps, over his chiseled chest. And she wanted to slip into his arms, into the open front of the jacket to wrap her arms around his broad, strong torso.

  She could practically feel the softness of his skin, the hardness of the muscles beneath it… she could practically hear the powerful beat of his heart in his chest. She wanted him so badly...

  Just then Lucy’s legs stopped moving, and her train of thought stopped on a dime. Standing in front of the mannequin sporting the strap on phallus was a familiar, rather tacky sight. Darla, Francis Luvici’s secretary and not-so-secret mistress, stood in her five-inch stiletto heels, holding her hand contemplatively to her chin as she scrutinized the obscene mannequin.

  Abbey stopped, her pigtails twirling in her black and
blue manicured fingers, and looked back to Lucy. Lucy just stood there, shaking her head as Luvici sauntered from behind a rack of practically not there negligees.

  Holy crap! Lucy took a hasty step back, ready to turn and bolt for the back door to the little shop of libidinous horrors—Lucy wanted a big black hole to open beneath her feet, and for it to swallow her whole.

  Abbey reached out and took hold of Lucy’s wrist, pulling her closer, and uttering a sibilant word Lucy could not recognize. She felt a shift in the air around them, and the tug of an all too familiar force—dark and sickly sweet. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

  But when she looked around her everything was a little fuzzy, and tinted a little darker. She looked back at Abbey, but she was still as clear as ever. Abbey put a finger up to her smiling lips to tell her to be quiet.

  Luvici walked right past them and didn’t as much as blink in their direction. It was eerie, and unnatural, but it was also thrilling. Somehow Abbey had become fluent enough in magic to be able to throw a spell of invisibility over not only herself, but others… and on the fly. A useful trick, to be sure.

  Abbey started to pull Lucy slowly toward the front door. Unfortunately, as they moved closer to the door, they had to move past Luvici and Darla... and hear their conversation.

  “But why not?” she complained. She gestured with a hand manicured with the most garish hot pink. “You like guys too. If I put this get up on—” she waved her hand at the strap-on wearing mannequin, “then you could get the best of both worlds.”

  Luvici and I winced at the same moment. “Darla!” he said exasperated, “I’m still... I’m—it doesn’t matter if I’m with a guy or a girl... I’m still me.”

  Darla looked at him with a confused expression, and then her eyes went wide. “Oh... ” she said, and then took a big step back, nearly running into Abbey. We both took a big step back, and started again for the door. I didn’t want to hear anymore about Darla and Luvici’s sex life.